Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I have recently downloaded a few new worship songs that are inspiring me daily. Thought I would share my list!

Starry Night- Chris August

Your Love- Brandon Heath

Follow Me There- Third Day

Born Again- Newsboys

Jesus Saves- Jeremy Camp

I've noticed lately that a lot of people have lost their dreams. I pray that you aren't one of them.

Your Love- Brandon Heath

I felt it first when I was youngerA strange connection to the lieI tried to satisfy the hungerI never got it rightI never got it rightSo I climbed a mountain and l built an altarLooked out as far as I could seeAnd everyday I’m getting olderI’m running outta dreamsI’m running outta dreamsBut Your loveYour loveThe only the thing that matters is Your loveYour love is all I have to giveYour love is enough to light up the darknessIt’s Your loveYour loveall I ever needed is Your loveYou know the effort I have givenAnd you know exactly what it costAnd though my innocence was takenNot everything is lostNot everything is lostBut Your loveYour loveThe only the thing that matters is Your loveYour love is all I have to giveYour love is enough to light up the darknessIt’s Your loveYour loveall I ever needed is Your loveYou’re the hope in the morningYou’re the light when the night is fallingYou’re the song when my heart is singingit’s Your loveYou’re the eyes to the blind manYou’re the feet to the lame men walkingYou’re the sound of the people singingIt’s Your loveBut Your loveYour loveThe only the thing that matters is Your loveYour love is all I have to giveYour love is enough to light up the darknessIt’s Your loveYour loveall I ever needed is Your loveBut Your love(Your love is all that I needed)The only the thing that matters is Your loveYour love is all I have to giveYour love is enough to light up the darkness(Your love is all that I needed)It’s Your loveYour loveIt’s all I ever needed

I will blog more on Saturday I promise! As of now I have to finish this month strong! I can't believe that I am 36 weeks pregnant. Here's what baby K is up to:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Monday, December 27, 2010

I will meditate about your glory, splendor, majesty, and miracles. —Psalm 145:5 TLB

Some of us are slowly unfolding miracles, yet miracles nonetheless. In God’s timing and for his purposes, he has accomplished his work in me. And I’m grateful he continues the work. He knew I’d falter and question.

Someone once said, “Courage is fear that has said its prayer.” That resonates within me. I do many things today not because I feel brave, but because I have prayed and God has answered and met me with his strength in my utter weakness.

I don’t know what sends shudders down your spine, what threatens your security, what gnaws at your work, but my prayer is that my encouragement will bring you hope, even if it’s just the size of a breadcrumb—enough for you to take the next liberating step. I’ve learned that life is exceedingly difficult and that God is amazingly big. He will reign over our greatest losses, rectify our worst failures, and remedy our deepest insecurities.

I don’t understand all the ways of the Lord, but then I’m not supposed to. Faith carries us through life’s unknowns and God’s mysteries. But one day, one absolutely glorious day, I will “get it,” and more importantly I’ll see Jesus face to face. That irrepressible hope keeps me breathing deeply, walking faithfully, and singing triumphantly.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The countdown to delivery I have on my phone says that we are four weeks and 6 days away from being parents. This week im just plain excited. I wish that Kennedy Kate could be here to partake in all of the Christmas festivities but I know that her first Christmas next year (as an 11 month old) will be so very fun! I'll have an extra Christmas cookie for her to enjoy this year.

This is the second Christmas in a row that I haven't felt a longing for a sense of home. Those of you who come from a divorced parents background will understand what I am talking about. Kyle and I now have established traditions which include: buying Christmas tree ornaments from Cracker Barrel at a VERY discounted price the day after Christmas, sending out Christmas cards, hanging the Christmas cards we receive from others around the fireplace, a trip to Santa's Ranch, and pancakes at Ihop on Christmas Eve :) We can't wait to see how these traditions change now that we will be starting our new little family. I wonder how much things will really change once Kennedy Kate is here?

Today some friends of ours, Darrell and Crystal Gelber, will be celebrating the arrival of their second child and first little girl! We can't wait to meet you Lexie!! Please pray for Crystal's labor and delivery.

I will skip the "what's up with your baby" info that I typically give from BabyCenter.com and tell you that this week Kennedy is just putting on weight (and so is mommy).

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 35 &1 Weeks

Size of baby: a LARGE Cantelope

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 40 pounds

Maternity Clothes: 90% maternity

Gender: It's a girl!!! Kennedy Kate

Movement: Head down and moving a lot

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good!

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, running, fitting in regular jeand

Cravings: Mexican and Milk

Symptoms: Mostly tiredness, a few Braxton Hicks

Best Moment this week: We have everything we need (as of now) except for my breast bump. Those things are pricey :)

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Are chill pills real? Because this 34 week pregnant woman needs one NOW! whoa I don't know what's gotten into me today but I am 2.5 seconds from a screaming break down. Please tell me that this is normal. Or bring over chill pills. Heading to bubble bath now.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Today we got to tour the hospital where our baby girl will be born. The tour really helped to ease my anxiety and I can definitely feel your prayers. I will post the pictures from the baby shower as soon I get them but for now I will tell you what KK is up to this week! I can't believe we have less than 6 weeks left to go.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous aboutpreterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Before I tell you about my exciting Sunday I want to wishCRYSTAL GELBERa very happy birthday!!! She will be welcoming a precious baby girl into her home in the next 10 days or so and could use your prayers as she has been on bed rest for over a week now. LOVE YOU CRYSTAL!

Sunday: December 12th

9:30: woke up and got ready for an amazing Christmas service at Manchaca Baptist Church. I loved all of the Christmas music, especially the praise band's "Go Tell it on the Mountain." After the service we headed to the church gym to a lunch served to us by the youth group. Thank you Thank you!

1:00: Went home to clean up the house a bit. My dad came over to spend some time with Kyle because my stepmom and I had a baby shower to go to :)

2:00: BABY SHOWER number 3 (We are SO VERY BLESSED) at Jenny's House. I love Jenny H so much and you readers should all look at her gorgeous banners that your can order through her blog or through her Etsy page. I will post pictures from the shower as soon as they are posted but I can't find the words to express my gratitude. I am so thankful to my beautiful hostess friends who surprised me with the PERFECT diaper bag!!

4:30 Shower stuff unpacked and in the nursery, new baby clothes hanging in the closet, diaper genie set up (thanks Marta), changing pad on changing table (thanks Claire) and cards placed in baby book.

5:00 Headed to Bannockburn Baptist Church for the second part of The Singing Christmas Tree. There is one more next Sunday and you should make plans to attend. What a blessing. I have several friends who sing in this Christmas celebration and it was great to see them perform again.

7:30 Headed to Kerbey Lane Cafe with Casey, Whitney, Jessica, and Kyle to have a blueberry pancake and a breakfast taco. SO GREAT!

I was asleep my 11 and slept until 10:15 this morning. Guess baby and I needed some rest. See tomorrow's post for pictures and the 34 week post. Almost time for Miss Kennedy Kate to be here and we just can't wait!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Maternity Clothes: wearing my maternity jeans daily much more comfortable now that Kennedy is getting bigger

Gender: It's a girl!!! Kennedy Kate

Movement: Kicks and Rolls!

Sleep: I've been sleeping great so far

What I miss: being able to get off the couch, out of the car, out of the bathtub, by myself

Cravings: Milk, Apples, and CARBS

Symptoms: bigger by the day, excitement, and anxiety. I've always been someone who prays regularly but this little girl is making a prayer warrior out of me! Please pray for my emotions and against anxiety.

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

On Saturday I had a wonderful baby shower thrown by several wonderful ladies from Hays Hills and Bannockburn Baptist Church. We are so blessed! This weekend Some dear friends of mine are throwing us a shower. Thank you Jenny H, Stephanie H, Nocona K, Ashley S, and Jill W! I CAN'T WAIT!

I just checked the 100 top baby names for 2010 and Kennedy is number 74 (and here I thought we were being creative) The list below shows number 71-80 of baby names for 2010 but you can clickHEREfor the whole list.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Today marks the start of 2011 for FHTM representatives. We get a head start on the New Year because what we do in December will be paid for in January and recorded on our 2011 10-99. How exciting! I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready for the new year. No waiting until 1.1.11 for this girl. I'm setting goals and forming a plan. The slogan I had in 2009 was, "In 2009 we are going to shine" for 2010 it was, "In 2010 we are going to win" but I am declaring "2011 the year for financial heaven". This is the year to become debt free F.O.R.E.V.E.R. I have a bigger "WHY" than ever before and know that Kennedy Kate will appreciate the hard work that her daddy and I put in in 2011.

I'm working in Fredericksburg today and its a great place to breathe a breath of fresh air, relax. and get my brain going. I'm in Java Ranch and just saw a hand painted sign that says, " WHEN IN DOUBT...LOOK UP" I just might have to buy that so that I will remember that only with God and a lot of discipline will we achieve our goal for 2011. Wait..buying that sign wouldn't help with our debt snowball. I'll take a picture instead.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Meet Kacy I wouldn't be able to retell the stories that have changed her this year but I can share what I know of her. I graduated with Kacy in May 2006 with a BA in Communication Studies from Texas State University (Eat 'em Up Cats). We were acquaintances involved in different college ministries but I believe that if we would have ever spent more than a class together we would have been inseparable friends. Thanks to facebook we stayed connected over the last 4 years (almost 5 WOW) and I began following her journey to Africa last year via her blog. She is a breath of fresh air, the life of the party, and just a complete joy. I didn't know her very well in college but over the last year I have watched her allow the Lord to use her and she has inspired me daily. She didn't ask me to write this (and I don't know if she will ever know I did) but I am asking you to read through her blog and get a glimpse of what God is using her to do in Africa. Please pray for her as she is here in the states until February 7th and if you have a bit of money to give to support her in her ministry you can donate on her blog. I'm thankful for people like Kacy. I love God stories

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Monday, November 22, 2010

Kennedy's nursery is almost complete. We have all of the furniture set up and will just add a few decorations and things to the walls and a few other items.

Tomorrow is Tuesday which means I will be 31 Weeks pregnant. I will have less than 9 weeks to go. WOW.

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? We plan on spending time with our families who will be coming together from all over Texas.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

This is a really big weekend as far as FHTM is concerned. Since next week is Thanksgiving week we are having to push through this weekend with back to back meetings to help our teammates meet their goals prior to the holiday. Please keep us in your prayers as we work this weekend.

So what are you thankful for? I can't wait to hear about all of your blessings!

Monday, November 15, 2010

This is a picture from my 30th week of pregnancy! I'm getting bigger and can't believe that her birthday is less than 10 weeks away!!

We had our first baby shower for Kennedy Kate at my dad's house on Saturday. It was a couples shower so all of our friends and families were there. It was Kyle's first baby shower and he loved it. This is the beautiful cake we had.

Some gifts from my dad.

Food Table. We also had wonderful chicken soup and cornbread. YUM!

My step mom made this diaper cake. It was held together with car seat toys, baby lotions, baby wash, hair bows, and pacifiers.

The BEST gift of the whole day was having my nephew Landon at the baby shower. After the shower he asked me to come and watch Charlie Brown's Christmas (his favorite movie to watch ALL year). He kept leaning over and kissing my belly and saying, "awww baby is cute. baby is sleeping". He is excited about being a cousin soon.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby K is the size of a head of squash

Total Weight Gain/Loss: my count is 33 pounds

Maternity Clothes: wearing my maternity jeans daily much more comfortable now that Kennedy is getting bigger

Gender: It's a girl!!! Kennedy Kate

Movement: Kicks and Rolls! Kyle is amazed to see my belly movement

Sleep: I've been sleeping great so far

What I miss: being able to get off the couch, out of the car, out of the bathtub, by myself

Cravings: Milk, Eggs, Carbs

Symptoms: bigger by the day, excitement :)

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Tomorrow is our first baby shower! We are so very excited about celebrating with friends and family! This has been an interesting week full of baby stuff, meetings, and driving to San Antonion, Fredericksburg, and Kerrville to share our story.

On Monday I felt an overwhelming feeling of paranoia about whether or not I will be a good mom and if I will be able to provide Kennedy with all she needs. I got up early on Tuesday morning and sat quietly in her nursery with my Bible open and came across Psalm 139 once again. I have been praying for a passage of scripture to frame and hang in Kennedy's nursery and this is it. I love how The Message puts it:

God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can't take it all in!

7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you're there!
If I go underground, you're there!
If I flew on morning's wings
to the far western horizon,
You'd find me in a minute—
you're already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I'm immersed in the light!"
It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.

17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I'm about;
See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.

And since this is a long post I might as well leave you with a song that has touched my heart deeply in the last few weeks or so. It is my desire to KNOW the Lord in this way! Enjoy and happy weekend!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Happy MONDAY! I know this sounds crazy to most but I absolutely LOVE Mondays! It's the beginning of a fresh start and I find myself renewed and motivated on Mondays. I am going to go ahead and write the 29 weeks baby post because tomorrow I have a lot on my plate.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby K is the size of a butternut squash

Total Weight Gain/Loss: my count is 33 pounds

Maternity Clothes: wearing my maternity jeans daily much more comfortable now that Kennedy is getting bigger

Gender: It's a girl!!! Kennedy Kate

Movement: Kicks and Rolls! Kyle was amazed to see my belly movement last night

Sleep: I've been sleeping great so far

What I miss: It seems that I have become a neat freak and begin crying when things in my house look messy. I miss not caring about every detail :)

Cravings: Milk, Eggs, Carbs

Symptoms: Pretty sure I felt a contraction yesterday morning while making coffee in our kitchen. It caught me off guard but was a pretty neat experienceBest Moment this week: all those rolls in my belly. Its really exciting!